Center Axis Relock
The John Wick movies burst onto the screen in 2014. They star Keanu Reeves as an expert assassin who is dragged back into the underworld of crime and violence. Two sequels quickly followed the original, and a fourth movie is in the works. The series is renowned for its crisp, groundbreaking action sequences, created with the assistance of some of today’s highest-level competitive shooters.
A distinctive part of the movies’ action sequences is Keanu’s excellent gun-handling skills. This added a layer of believability not usually seen in today’s action movies. It has also attracted the interest of the firearms community, which has taken the time to dissect the action sequences to figure out how Keanu is making John Wick come to life.
One of the gun handling techniques commonly associated with the John Wick movies is Center Axis Relock (“CAR”). CAR is a unique method of keeping your pistol near you and with you when space is limited. There are dozens of articles out there about how Center Axis Relock is (allegedly) used in the John Wick movies. However, no one has taken the time to talk with the people who actually teach this gun handling technique about how it’s used in the John Wick movies.
Until now, that is. So, let’s talk about Center Axis Relock. More importantly, let’s learn from the people who teach this method about how it’s portrayed on the silver screen.
What is Center Axis Relock?
Center Axis Relock was developed by Paul Castle of Sabre Tactical as a close-distance technique that is useful for firearm retention and shooting from inside a vehicle. Since Paul’s death in 2011, the system has been curated by Jeff Johnsgaard of Natural Tactical. Jeff is a veteran law enforcement officer, accomplished martial artist, and experienced firearms trainer who now teaches Center Axis Relock to armed citizens, law enforcement, and elite military units.
At its heart, the CAR system was developed to get quick hits on targets at close range, from five feet out to a few yards. It’s meant to complement — not replace — existing pistol stances such as the Weaver and Isosceles stances. The CAR system emphasizes natural fighting positions such as a bladed stance and integrates methods for quick acquisition of the sights at short distances.
Elements of Center Axis Relock
The Center Axis Relock system has three essential elements:
A Bladed Stance
When done properly, Center Axis Relock presents a very thin profile to the target. The gun is held tight and close to the chest. Its close proximity to your body helps with weapon retention in a struggle, as the leverage is working in your favor and against your opponent. This close-in stance also comes in very handy when moving around inside a structure or a vehicle, as your gun isn’t way out in front of you for all to see (or grab).
Use of the Non-Dominant Eye
Learning how to shoot with both eyes open takes some time. Some people (like me) adapt quickly; others learn much slower. You can shoot with only one eye open, but that cuts down on your depth perception and your view. The CAR technique bypasses this problem by moving the pistol in front of your eye on your non-dominant (i.e. support hand) side. This places the pistol close to your body and places the pistol’s sights at the natural close-distance focus point of your eyes.
Adjusting Your Grip
CAR requires a bladed shooting stance. This means moving your hands on your gun. If you use a thumbs-forward grip, you’ll need to move your support hand into more of a Weaver push-pull grip, where the fingers on the support hand rotate slightly forward. This also drops the support side elbow down slightly. The idea behind this grip is that it makes it easier to control recoil in close quarters and vehicles, and it gives you better leverage if you’re faced with a tug of war for your gun.
Does John Wick Use Center Axis Relock?
I got in touch with Jeff Johnsgaard. He’s the leading expert on the Center Axis Relock system. I asked him about how the John Wick films portray CAR.
“That’s not really Center Axis Relock in those movies,” he said. “I don’t know who trained Keanu on the system, but it wasn’t us.”
Keanu clearly is not bladed all that much in the film. He’s also using a standard thumbs-forward grip, his pistol is out of his line of sight, and it’s right in front of his dominant eye. All of this diverges from the Center Axis Relock method. Instead, Keanu appears to use a modified High Ready Position.
(High) Ready. Set. Go.
The High Ready position is a stopping point on the way between a draw from the holster and a fully extended pistol that’s out in front of your body, ready for use. You hold the pistol in both hands, close against the chest, using a thumbs-forward grip. From this position, it’s easy to press your gun out towards targets at all manner of distances.
High Ready also makes it easy to retain control of your firearm if someone tries to grab it. Your pistol is up close to your chest in this position, just like it is in Central Axis Relock. This gives you leverage over anyone who is pawing at your pistol. In the photo above, Keanu Reeves is using a slightly different version of High Ready to keep his 1911 close to his body and ready for action. His gun is closer to his face, and it’s canted slightly. This is an effective, natural technique for moving with a gun, but it’s clearly not Center Axis Relock.
Why High Ready?
CAR is a specific technique for specific situations. Castle designed it for work in very tight spaces, like inside a car. It works alongside your existing shooting stance when the need arises. High Ready, on the other hand, is an extension of your existing draw technique. A good draw stroke consists of six parts. First, you get a firm, firing grip on your gun. Next, you draw your gun from your holster and rotate your gun towards the target. Then, you bring your pistol up and forward, where your support hand can grab onto it, and you continue on to get your pistol on-target in your field of view.
High Ready is that moment when your gun is up and in front of you, both hands are on the gun and it is right out in front of you, but you don’t have anything close to a sight picture.
High Ready is easy to integrate into your tactical toolbox because it’s already a part of a smooth, safe draw stroke. It’s also easy to learn safely at home. I recommend you include it as part of your dry fire practice regimen.
Hollywood Likes Rocking The Relock
The John Wick movies have sparked a renewed interest in high-level firearms training. That’s a good thing for both gun owners and firearms trainers. There are many different techniques Hollywood uses in those movies. Some techniques are from the world of practical shooting competitions and others are from more tactical disciplines. The John Wick films helped spur a ton of interest in Center Axis Relock, even though the films don’t actually portray it. CAR is a technique created to help you put rounds on target in tight, enclosed spaces, no matter if you’re a trained professional assassin straight out of Hollywood or a normal citizen straight off of Main Street.
All I can say is that it is.a ‘Still’ photo, to really see if he using the stance as defined, you need to watch the movie, A still photo does not a stance make, it is a ‘point in time’ the picture was taken. I’m no expert, and would have to watch it again, it really agree or disagree.
I own all three, and have watched them, well, too much for my own good, if I’m honest. 🙂
I used the still because it was released by Lionsgate and can be used without copyright issues (as someone who makes his living creating copyrighted material, I’m pretty sensitive to this…).
However, that still is typical of the technique used in the movie.
Kevin, I thought your article was excellent. You addressed the CAR issue directly and with data to buttress it.
I can't find any faults with it, and I do have a long and happy relationship with firearms since I've been shooting for 58 years.
My initial teacher was my Cherokee grandfather. We Cherokees have been using firearms for a very long time, in fact, longer than the country I served for over 15 years has existed.
So, yeah, my first instructor was my Cherokee grandfather, Tsali.
Tsali served as a gunner’s mate in the Pacific Theater during World War II. Also, his father crossed over when he was 11 and it was his duty to provide meat for his younger sister and mother. He hunted and fished to feed them.
During the Great Depression the local game warden came to his house and asked him to cull the deer who's population had exploded and were invading town and were reeking havoc in folks' gardens. That had to stop. Tsali took his assignment on the condition that the venison would be delivered to households hit the hardest by the Depression. That was accepted and he filled the larders that needed help.
I'd dare say that establishes his bona fides well enough.
I enlisted in the military at 17 and my first instructor there was a MACVSOG guy before he came to teach us. The man was a legend and would regale us with stories about serving in Vietnam, though nothing classified.
He was the man who told me that in close quarters fighting aiming got left behind; he said to just point and squeeze, or you'll go home in a bodybag.
Between those 2 men I learned enough to have survived 15 years of on and off combat duty. I lost a lot of brothers who I can only visit at Arlington National Cemetery.
Not once in combat, and yeah, I served combat since I was a sniper, did I or anyone around me while clearing buildings use the CAR method because it had not been invented yet.
As I'm sure that anyone reading this can understand; combat is more akin to explosive chaos, with party favors, yep, incoming!
The John Wick series gets that explosive chaos extremely well, and I think that's important.
Audiences have been exposed to the worst gun handling ever with cowboys shooting accurately while riding a galloping horse, which is totally bullspit, but only the beginning of terrible gun handling
Then, in the 1980s action movies were huge business, and the stars were seemingly capable of taking out huge numbers of enemies with never ending ammo. And, naturally, they almost never missed.
I'll spare you more rehashes of cinema nonsense, and congratulate you for a fine and factual article.
There's only one more salient point to make; its a freakin' movie. If there are mistakes, who cares? How many times have your readers watched Keanu Reeves training with Taron Butler on YouTube?
I know I was impressed. The man can shoot, and not like some Hollyweird star either. He's genuinely really good with firearms of any stripe.
Good job, Kevin!
Donadgohvi means, until we meet again, in Cherokee.
USE OF THE NON-DOMINANT EYE
That reminds of Paris Theodore’s Quell system.
I find that police thibk they know the most about shooting when in reality they are usually very poor shooters. 17% in a gunfight is the average.
Maybe my computer dropped a photo, but I am amazed at how much Keanu Reeves looks like Kevin Creighton in this article… lol
Ha!